March 19, 2021 - Croatian footballers Luka Modrić and Mislav Oršić were brilliant in UEFA competitions this week, earning them Player of the Week recognitions!

What a week it was for Croatian football and footballers. 

Mislav Oršić played a fantastic match in the sensational Dinamo comeback against Tottenham on Thursday night at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb. 

Praise came from all sides; even the great Gary Lineker congratulated Oršić on the hat-trick after the game. 

"Blimey. Spurs have blown it. No words... other than to say what a hattrick from Mislav Orsic."

Oršić's 10/10 match not only brought Dinamo a historic result and spot in the Europa League quarterfinals, but UEFA recognized the 28-year-old as the Europa League player of the week!  

In the selection, Oršić surpassed the star of Ajax, David Neres, Romino Borja Mayoral (former Real player), and Gerard Moreno, the great, 35 million euro Villarreal striker, against whom Dinamo will meet in the quarterfinals.

"Goals? They mean a lot to me. I didn't sleep all night because of the adrenaline; I couldn't close my eyes," Oršić said the day after the game.

The masterclass of Luka Modrić and his age-defying skill didn't go unnoticed against Atalanta on Tuesday in Real Madrid's 3:1 victory. So much so that the 35-year-old was named the Champions League player of the week!

Luka was the assistant for Real's leading goal and played a significant role in the deserved Madrid win. 

SPORTBible couldn't go without praising Modrić either, sharing a compilation of the Croatia captain ruling Atalanta. 

"Goals from Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Marco Asensio ensured Atalanta would exit the competition at the round-of-16 stage.

But Modric stole the show as he scooped the Man of the Match award thanks to a dazzling performance in Europe's elite club competition.

The 35-year-old Croatian midfielder rolled back the years as he pulled the strings from the midfield, setting up Benzema for Madrid's opener in the first half.

Modric's show-stealing performance wasn't unnoticed by fans, who took to social media to laud him for his brilliance on the pitch," said SPORTbible. 

Luka Modrić vs Atalanta pic.twitter.com/2ykTN5ohg7

— Thiago ? (@HMDComps) March 16, 2021

Bravo to Luka and Mislav! 

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December 27, 2020 - The European Football Federation (UEFA) has ranked the most successful clubs in the European Cup/Champions League from 1955 to 2020. Dinamo and Hajduk fall into the top 80. 

As expected, at the top is Real Madrid, which has been European champion 13 times (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018) with a total of 607 points.

The German giant Bayern Munich holds the second spot with 495 points, while Barcelona is in third place with 459 points. In the top 5 are Manchester United (380) and Juventus (361).

They are followed by Milan (314), Liverpool (298), Benfica (287), Porto (286), and Ajax (271). 

In 11th place, Dynamo Kyiv is the best-placed club that has never won a European title, not even played in the finals.

The list of 500 clubs also includes five Croatian representatives.

Namely, Dinamo Zagreb is in 30th place, Hajduk is in 79th place, Rijeka is in 270th place, Zagreb is in 366th place, and Lokomotiva is in 459th place.

Dinamo played their first European match in 1958 against Dukla Prague. They were also the third Yugoslav club to play in a UEFA-sponsored competition after Partizan in 1955 and Red Star in 1956.

Dinamo has played 136 games in Champions League, 123 in Europa League, and 31 in the Cup Winners' Cup. Their best result was making the Europa League round of 16, where they lost to Benfica in the 2018-19 season. Dinamo also made it to the Cup Winners' Cup semifinals in 1960-61 and the quarters in both 1964-65 and 1969-70. 

On the other hand, Hajduk has played 40 games in Champions League, 128 in Europa League, and 30 in Cup Winners' Cup. 

Their best results include losing in the Champions League quarterfinals in 1976, 1980, and 1995, and losing in the Europa League semis in 1984 and the quarters two years later. Hajduk also made it to the Cup Winners' Cup semis in 1973 and quarters in 1978. 

Rijeka has participated in UEFA competitions on 20 occasions, with most appearances (16) since 1999. Rijeka's best result was the 1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinals, where Juventus eliminated them. 

Source: Gol.hr

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